Transfer case actuator motor gear.
 

Hey I've been noticing that at around the right RPM's my 4x4 ABS light and brake light come on (deactivating all 3). Also when i turn off the engine i hear a clicking noise from under the car. So i did some research, and its become apparent to me that the transfer case actuator gear is worn out. Im usually someone to repair things on my e53 myself (DIY), so i order the gear the seems to be the actual problem so i can replace it this Saturday. While I'm waiting I'm wondering if anyone can tell me how do i take it out from under the car, Or is their a write up or video where someone is detailed about how they take it out from under the car. A lot of videos I've seen they skip that whole part.:dunno:

Go to youtube and look up briansmobile1 he has a video on removing the actuator. There's also a video on replacing the gear on youtube just do a search.

Thanks.

I just did the gear replacement and since there is so much information spread out around the internet and in forums on this topic I created a post to try to consolidate it (see below). So far so good, it fixed the problem no more warning lights and no more clicking when I turn off the car. I chose to replace the gear with a new one rather than risk it failing or slipping back into the worn out portion of the gear, my reasoning being if I was going to spend a Sunday working on this I didn't want to ever have to repeat it :)

I included my photos and the 3 best videos I found on the problem/replacement:

BMW Transfer Case Actuator Problem And Fix

http://24f554c823a5bc6186e5-0abca687...gear-thumb.jpg

This article is an attempt to aggregate information in a single place regarding a defect in the X drive systems of BMWs that will typically affect ALL of the following models of BMWs at one point or another, typically around 80k-120k miles.

2001-2003 BMW X5 3.0 L6 E53
2004-2006 BMW X5 E53
2004-2010 BMW X3 E83

The model year 2001-2003 BMW does not have an actuator gear in the transfer case. See Realoem.com. It uses a different transfer case.

Thanks for catching that, updated. I was basing that off of a part spec that I saw but that must've been in error ...

Just as an FYI. Over 2 years since I have flipped my gear. I have all 4 seasons here, and drive it like I stole it from time to time.

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...ixed-sort.html

It is important to mark the position of the gear on the outside, before you take the motor out.

Hi SlickGt1,

Do you replaced just the "gear" with an updated part or you elected to replace the actuator (pn# 27107566296)?

I just flipped the gear 180 degrees. Took me all of 15 min to do, oh and free.

Edit: Given 2 years since you did the alternative "free" solution

How many miles after that?

At least you can tell the story whether "flipping the gear 180 degrees" was short term fix or can even last longer ( wild a** guess equal or greater than 30,000miles)